Pool Filter Sand

T

ToddLaCo

Premium Member
I went to Home Depot today to purchase some Pulverized Limestone and I came across some Pavestone brand Pool Filter Sand. It looks identical to southdown sand. It is consistent sugar grain size and inside the bag is wet. I would assume this means it is pre-rinsed. Yes, I will rinse it some before putting it in my tank anyways.

The only catch is, I did the vinegar test and it didn't fizz. The only vinegar I had at the house was apple cidar vinegar. Will apple cidar vinegar work for the aragonite test, or is this why the fizz test didn't work?

If anyone knows anything, good or bad about this sand please let me know. If it is good, I am on my way back tomorrow to get more.
 
Does the apple cider vinegar list it's acidity? My understanding is that it's the acidity in vinegar that causes the fizzing, so if the vinegar you used was acidic (Standard vinagar is 5% Acetic Acid, I believe), and it didn't fizz, than I wouldn't mess with the sand, especially since there are other cheap alternatives (Pavestone) that are calcium based...
 
Pool filter sand i.e DE is a very sharp grain sand, which is why it traps the gunk and is excellent for pool filtration, but may be harmful to sand sifting fish. DE is also silica based and offers zero buffering qualities. You can use it, it will work as sand in your tank and animal's will live in it, but why not use something that will help your tank. The PL is $5 for 50lbs, how much cheaper do you want to get, I suggest that you visit someone that has it in their tank. See this article: http://www.reefs.org/library/article/r_toonen9.html

Cheers!
 
I will be heading back to HD today to grab a bag of Pulverized Limestone and I am going to do a little comparison.

I did a little research and DE (Diatomaceous Earth) and Silica pool filter sand are two different products. DE is a powder (grain size ?) and pool filter sand is a larger sugar grain size.

I do understand that pool filter sand is silica based and DE is probably also silica based, but my buffering will most likely be done externally and not rely on the sandbed. For me, the sandbed is more for an asthetic purpose, and the small sample that was seaping out of the limestone bag seemed very rough.

As far as the pool filter sand being very sharp, in the case of the limestone I can't see something that is pulverized being very round in shape. I would think that the Pulverized Limestone would be fairly sharp also.

Everyone speaks of sharp grains hurting sand sifters. I have used crushed coral substrate of various grades for years with no ill effects on sand sifters, and crushed coral is very rough with sharp edges.

Not trying to start any contoversy. I am just putting my ideas out there and trying to learn some more about the whole sand issue, so please correct me if I am in error regarding any of this. I understand the benifits of calcium based sand, but I have also read that silica based sand is not the bad thing that everyone used to think it was.
 
I've beed re-searching some sands also. I know the PL sand at Home Depot is cheap but I am using it in a 29gal and don't really like the look of it.

I want something smaller and whiter just for looks really.
 
@bimmerzs wrote:
Pool filter sand i.e DE is a very sharp grain sand said:
I used pool filter sand in my first tank and I had a SS Star and a SS Goby and all was well. The color I got I did not like it was more brown then my liking but it seemed to work well.
Click to expand...
 
One more qestion I forgot earlier.

How many lbs of sand will it take for a 2" sandbed in a tank that is 8' long x 3' deep
 
@ToddLaCo wrote:
One more qestion I forgot earlier. How many lbs of sand will it take for a 2" sandbed in a tank that is 8' long x 3' deep said:
http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/SandBed.php
Click to expand...
 
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